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Summer League Awards

Photo Credit: Lulla Photography

The 2016 Metro Summer League wrapped up with former Creighton star Grant Gibbs leading his team to a championship. The last current Bluejays in the tournament, Ronnie Harrell and Tyler Clement, were eliminated in the semifinals by Gibbs' squad. With the tournament coming to an end, it is now time to hand out this year's summer league awards. They are very official and were voted on by an esteemed panel of one.

Most Improved Player: From last year's summer league to this year's, no player has improved more than redshirt freshman center Justin Patton. While the flashes of brilliance were there last year, they were somewhat few and far between. Not so this year. Patton was dominant for large stretches of his teams games and displayed a unique skill set for his size that should make him an important part of the Jays upcoming season. Also, he has started to just dunk everything, which is a lot of fun.

Breakout Star: If there were any question about this award, incoming freshman guard Davion Mintz put those to bed with a 40 point performance on Monday in which he shot 10 for 11 from beyond the arc. Mintz wowed with his athleticism as well as his high skill level. Don't be surprised if the true freshman contributes for Creighton this year.

Best Single Game Performance: This award is a tie between the aforementioned 40 point game by Davion Mintz and the 48 point effort Ronnie Harrell turned in to knock off the top seed in the tournament.

Most Outstanding Player: This award could go to a few different guys, but sophomore guard Khyri Thomas showed the most consistently outstanding play throughout the summer. That can be attributed to his high motor which often takes him to another level that not all players are always willing to go. Thomas knocked down his jumper at a very high rate and was relentless at attacking the rim. His play (along with that of teammate Justin Patton) led his team to an undefeated record in pool play. It also led to some incredible highlight dunks.

Bonus . . . The Dennis Green "They are who we thought they were" Award: This goes to the two guys I consider known commodities and therefore did not devote much time to over the summer. Guards Mo Watson and Marcus Foster should be the best backcourt in the Big East and one of the best in the country if all goes well. They have nothing to prove in summer league. We know these guys are good and we know they will be a huge key to Creighton's success in the upcoming season. In other words, they are who we thought they were.

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